How to replace mascarpone: preparing Italian desserts at home. Delicate, tasty, creamy mascarpone - what is it and can it be replaced? My mascarpone cheese recipe

– very soft and soft cream cheese, with a light creamy taste.

There is an assumption that the name of this product comes from "mas que bueno", which means "better than good" in Spanish.

Mascarpone is used in various famous desserts, for example, in Italian tiramisu or American cheesecake.

But unfortunately this delicious cheese It is not always possible to find it on sale, and the cost of this type of soft cheese is quite high.

Therefore, the question arises, what to replace mascarpone in recipes with?

The highlights of tiramisu are mascarpone and savoiardi cookies, and no matter how much you bake the biscuits and spread them with something made from cottage cheese, it will no longer be tiramisu. Chefs will tell us that mascarpone can only be replaced with fresher mascarpone, but this is not our case.

If for some reason you were unable to buy mascarpone, then you need to look for replacement options.

The most similar to mascarpone in taste and quality is another national Italian milk product– , cheese made from whey.

Is it possible to replace mascarpone with ricotta and how to do it correctly?

Replacement is quite possible, but you need to consider what dish the cheese is intended for.

Unlike mascarpone, ricotta cheese can be... different types: slightly sweetish, quite suitable for making desserts, and salty and smoked varieties can replace a similar product in snack dishes.

Some advise replacing Mascarpone with a cheaper one, “Almette” or “Rama Bonjur” without additives in blue packaging.

Another possible way: mix a pack of any cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of 35% cream and 3 tablespoons of 25% sour cream and use the resulting mixture as a cream when making dessert.

By the way, in the “Eating at Home” program, Yulia Vysotskaya always said that Mascarpone cheese can be replaced with children’s curd cheeses, not glazed, but regular ones. They need to be mixed and beaten thoroughly with the most heavy cream(not less than 33%), based on the amount of 1 part cream - 2.5 cheese or vanilla curd mass without fruit additives.

What can Mascarpone cheese be made from?

How to replace mascarpone cheese in home cooking?

The product, similar in taste to the original cheese, is quite easy to prepare.

All you need is heavy cream and lemon juice.

Homemade recipe review:


Lyubov Schastlivtseva, VKontakte: “By the way, as a person who didn’t buy mascarpone, I made it myself from cream - it turns out great, it’s delicious, you can gobble it up))) I highly recommend it to those who, for one reason or another, cannot get mascarpone. The truth was hanging up to drain overnight. According to reviews from people who have tried both mascarpone and the mass after boiling the cream, it is identical. It turns out a kind of creamy curd very tender mass. The main thing is not to let the cream boil too much.

Try it - you won't be disappointed."

P.S. The cream should be fat, 30 percent, no less than fat content.

Cooking option Sour cream mascarpone Nastya Tumanova suggests:

Mascarpone cheese can be made like this! Buy sour cream 30-40%, not sour in taste. Place it on gauze folded 3 times, tie it and hang it so that all the water from the sour cream drips out overnight. In the morning there will be a thick creamy mass almost indistinguishable from Mascarpone.

Mascarpone from sour cream and kefir:

  1. Take 800 g of sour cream and one package of kefir, mix them, add salt to taste.
  2. Hang it for a couple of days in a linen bag over the sink. As soon as the product hardens enough, this is a signal that homemade mascarpone is ready.

Mascarpone from cream mixture:

Instead of mascarpone, you can use this mixture - take one packet of powder for vanilla pudding(or semi-finished product for custard) and mix it with condensed milk (instead of plain milk, in the same quantity as written in the preparation instructions on the bag itself), then put the mixture in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. This mass is used in tiramisu in the same way as mascarpone with yolks.

Cottage cheese mascarpone

And also combine the fattest cottage cheese with heavy cream, beat until smooth and thick, add sugar, vanilla, a few drops of lemon juice. You can add dissolved gelatin (along with cream). Then you get a very tender and, at the same time, solid mass.

Ryazhenka mascarpone:

You need to take fermented baked milk paper bags. Place in the freezer to freeze for 1 day. Cut it in half and prepare a structure from a bowl, colander and gauze. Now you need to put the frozen ryazhenka blocks there and put them in the refrigerator for slow defrosting. Let the whey drain, we don't need it. In a day, when all the whey has come out, an excellent fermented baked milk cream is ready.

Tiramisu recipe without Mascarpone

Culinary experts suggest replacing mascarpone in tiramisu cream with familiar dairy products.

How to make this dessert without cream cheese?

Ingredients:

Tiramisu recipe without mascarpone:

1. Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve, add fresh sour cream, beat the mixture thoroughly with a mixer.

2. Also beat the yolks until they reach White color. Mix all components.

3. Carefully pour the separately beaten egg whites into the mixture, stirring continuously.

4. Place the cookies soaked in cooled coffee in a tall vase in one layer, cover the top with the prepared cream, again place a layer of soaked cookies, then a layer of cream. So we lay it out to the edge of the vase, sprinkle the top creamy layer with cocoa.


Mascarpone is a very soft, creamy cheese with a delicate creamy taste, which reminds the best varieties sour cream and baked milk at the same time. Some believe that the name of this product comes from “mas que bueno”, which means “better than good” in Spanish.

Mascarpone is most often used in confectionery for preparing various desserts, the most famous of which are cheesecakes and. But cheese is also used as savory snacks, prepared by mixing mascarpone with mustard and anchovies.

Useful properties of mascarpone

The calorie content of mascarpone cheese is high: about 450 kcal per 100 g of product, so it is unlikely to be suitable for dietary nutrition. But for people who do not have any special problems with their figure, the delicacy will evoke the most positive taste sensations.

Like anyone fermented milk product, mascarpone has a number of useful properties: contains essential amino acids, valuable micro- and macroelements, including those necessary for musculoskeletal system calcium, and a number of vitamins.

Mascarpone cheese: what can you replace it with?

Unfortunately, such a wonderful product cannot always be found on sale, and the cost of this type of soft cheese is quite high. Therefore, a natural question arises: what cheese can replace mascarpone?

The most similar to mascarpone in taste and quality is another national Italian dairy product - cheese made from whey. Is it possible to replace mascarpone with ricotta and how? Replacement is quite possible, but you need to consider what dish the cheese is intended for. Unlike mascarpone, ricotta varieties come in different types: slightly sweet, they are quite suitable instead of mascarpone in desserts, and salty and smoked varieties can replace a similar product in appetizer dishes. But ricotta is also an infrequent guest in our kitchen.

Some people advise replacing mascarpone with Bonjour, Almette or Rama cream cheese.

How to replace mascarpone cheese in home cooking? A product similar in taste to the original mascarpone is easy to prepare.

How to make mascarpone at home?

Ingredients:

  • heavy cream (at least 25%) – 1 l;
  • citric acid – ¼ teaspoon.

Preparation

Pour the cream into a saucepan and heat until the first bubbles appear. We dilute citric acid by adding a little water to a teaspoon of acid. Stirring constantly, pour the diluted acid into the hot cream. Keep the cream on low heat until it becomes very thick.

Place a colander in a dry container and place a cotton towel folded in half on its bottom. Place the cream in a colander and wait for the whey to drain. This process usually takes about 1.5 hours. The product remaining in the colander is an analogue of mascarpone. It should be half a kilogram.

Culinary experts suggest replacing mascarpone in tiramisu cream with familiar dairy products.

Tiramisu without mascarpone

Ingredients:

  • eggs – 3 pcs.;
  • village sour cream– 300 g;
  • homemade cottage cheese – 300 g;
  • biscuit cookies – 300 g;
  • powdered sugar – 3 tbsp. spoons;
  • cocoa/powder – 4 teaspoons;
  • brewed natural strong coffee – 1 glass.

Preparation

Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve, add fresh sour cream, and beat the mixture thoroughly with a mixer. We also beat the yolks until they turn white. Mix all components. Carefully pour the separately beaten egg whites into the mixture, stirring continuously. Choose a dish with high edges. Place the cookies soaked in cooled coffee on a plate in one layer, cover the top with the prepared cream, again place a layer of soaked cookies, then a layer of cream. So we lay it out to the edge of the dish, sprinkle the top creamy layer with cocoa.

Real tiramisu is usually eaten with spoons, like pudding; it is not cut into pieces like a cake.

Not every fatty cottage cheese can boast such a delicate creamy texture. But Italian cottage cheese Mascarpone is an exception to the rule, created on the basis of heavy cream.

The true birthplace of the production of delicate mascarpone cheese is the Italian province of Lombardy (more precisely, the southwestern part of Milan). It was here that cheesemakers found direct use for the cream that remained after the milk had settled overnight and had to be skimmed off before it was to be used to make the famous extra-hard Parmesan. The skimmed cream was fermented with lemon or acetic acid, heated up and this is how the now world famous mascarpone curd cheese was obtained.

Mascarpone is soft cheese with a very high fat content, which ranges from 60 to 75 percent. The resulting cheese is the main ingredient in famous Italian recipes such as tiramisu and cheesecakes.

The texture of the cheese varies from smooth, creamy, without grain, to buttery, depending on how it was prepared. Externally, mascarpone looks like well-whipped cream, from which butter should be made.

If the cheese is made in compliance with all standards, then its color should vary from white to cream. The taste should be soft milky with an inherent full fat milk aroma.

By the way, going through the gentle heat treatment, it retains all properties fresh milk, has no preservatives and is not salted at all. Rennet is also not used in production.

Mascarpone cheese composition

Many cheeses, which are completely different from cottage cheese, cannot boast such a fatty buttery taste, and also a huge amount chemical components beneficial to the body. This type of cheese contains:

Carbohydrates;

Essential amino acids ( greatest number constitutes the antioxidant tryptophan);

Vitamin A;

B vitamins (in particular, it contains daily norm nicotinic acid);

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C);

Phylloquinoane (hematopoietic vitamin K);

So important minerals, like potassium, calcium and phosphorus.

The amount of fat in it can reach up to 50 percent, 3 percent protein and 5 percent carbohydrates. With such a fat content, it cannot low-calorie product. Therefore, the calorie content of such a soft cheese delicacy is quite high and amounts to 412 kilocalories per 100 grams of product.

Benefits of mascarpone cheese

Useful properties of Italian cream cheese, not at all similar to curd mass, are invaluable.

True, there is a certain list of the most striking qualities, which includes:

  • Reducing the level of increased irritability;
  • Normalization of mood (sudden swings can be avoided);
  • Getting rid of insomnia;
  • Effective fight against depression;
  • Prevention negative impact stress on the body;
  • Strengthening the immune system;
  • Stimulation of active hematopoiesis;
  • Defence from negative influence polluted environment;
  • Relieving pain from arthritis and arthrosis;
  • Strengthening the skeletal system;
  • Formation and improvement of the functioning of ligaments and muscles;
  • Giving elasticity to blood vessels;
  • Lowering blood cholesterol levels;
  • Strengthening the heart muscle.

Contraindications

Due to its increased fat content (despite its exceptional naturalness), mascarpone has quite a wide range contraindications for direct use. Among them it is necessary to highlight:


What is mascarpone cheese eaten with and where is it used?

Mascarpone has a soft, delicate structure, which is why many chefs call it creamy butter cheese.

Naturally, it can easily be spread on a flatbread or a piece of bread. They add it to soups, dumplings, risotto, and sometimes replace butter in baked goods.

Mascarpone cheese can be used:

  • In tiramisu or as a filling for desserts such as pies and cheesecake. The cheese's rich, soft, creamy flavor is important property to prepare these dishes.
  • In pasta sauces.
  • To thicken and add richness to dishes such as soups or risotto.
  • Instead of butter or margarine. The advantage of this replacement is the lower fat content of mascarpone compared to butter or margarine.
  • As a dessert, like whipped cream, served with fruits and berries.
  • You can freeze it like ice cream by replacing cream in the recipe.

How to make mascarpone cheese at home

Cream, not milk, is used to make cheese. This is a cheese that every housewife can make. No special cheese is used for its preparation. rennet extract. All you need is cream lemon acid or vinegar. But first, let’s look at the technology for making cheese in its homeland – Italy.

  • Fresh cream;
  • They added a certain amount tartaric acid(or rather, white wine) or lemon juice;
  • Then this whole mass was heated, but not brought to a boil;
  • Then it was placed in small linen bags and hung to drain the whey.

The result was a creamy “cottage cheese” (this is how the word “mascarpone” is translated), which had to be consumed within a day at most.

Today in dairy factories everything is simpler:

  • The cream is heated, but not boiled, along with a certain amount of citric acid;
  • The whey is drained;
  • The resulting curd mass is mixed and packaged in vacuum plastic packaging of 80-500 grams.

Homemade cheese production works in exactly the same way. The cream, to which citric acid is added, is heated to a temperature of 85 degrees. At this temperature they ferment, forming a curd mass. Now you need to separate the curds from the whey. The resulting curd mass in gauze is placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

How to replace mascarpone cheese

A similar substitute for mascarpone cheese in recipes can be ricotta cheese, which is made from cow's milk or creamy soft cheese.

How to store mascarpone cheese

Mascarpone cheese is a highly perishable product. Therefore, it should only be stored in the refrigerator. After opening the vacuum packaging, it is best to consume it immediately. Shelf life in the refrigerator is no more than three days. Then the cheese begins to separate and spoil.

There are many cheeses in the world. Some of them are considered real delicacies. Certain varieties are valued for their specific taste. And there is mascarpone, it stands apart not only because of its unusual composition, but also because of the number of dishes in which it is considered indispensable. But this statement is still controversial, as thousands of cooks and lovers of magic at the stove have already become convinced of.

Peculiarities

The name of the cheese is often pronounced by involuntarily rearranging the letters. But the taste of mascarpone is difficult to compare with its other “brothers”. It is not soft, and by no means hard. It rather resembles the thickness of butter or sour cream melted in heat. The basis for preparing mascarpone is cream from a cow or buffalo. Their fat content is 25%.

To make this cheese, they use the so-called water bath, in which the cream is heated, gradually pouring in lemon juice or vinegar. After coagulating the milk base, the resulting mass is placed in dense fabric bags and hung to remove excess liquid, as well as for self-pressing.

When you are wondering what to replace mascarpone with, try making it at home. According to the description of the technology, this is not difficult to do. The main thing is to decide on the proportions. For example, for one liter of cream you will need ¼ teaspoon of acid. And if the household has a double boiler, it will be suitable as the main unit.

Many are of the opinion that mascarpone appeared on the table thanks to the mistake of an unknown cook at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. He wanted to make ricotta cheese, but it turned out perfectly new variety. When you don’t have time to cook, it’s not by chance, but quite deliberately, that you can find options for replacing mascarpone.

In what dishes is this cheese most often used as an additive?

The first thing that all experts in world cuisine call is tiramisu. Not all compatriots are yet accustomed to this name of the Italian dessert, but the essence is clear - a pie that consists of several layers. Mascarpone cheese suits it perfectly as a layer. How to replace it when you have time and opportunity to prepare required mass No? Very quick recipe considered a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream. It is better to beat the ingredients in a blender, adding a little lemon juice. And for fat content you can add a small amount of cream.

In Italy and other countries, mascarpone is used for morning sandwiches. The delicate but colorful composition of the cheese gives a pleasant taste to the start of the day and a good energy boost. How to replace mascarpone in this case? If you have soft cheese, cream and a little softened butter in the refrigerator, mix them, beat well, adding a little citrus juice, better from lemon, as well as some greens.

Mascarpone has become good cream not only for tiramisu, but also for many other desserts and baked goods. Mushroom pie, smeared on top with this amazing cheese, acquires unique taste, exquisite and delicate. A mixture of curd and cream, stirred until smooth, is what can replace mascarpone in this case.

Dessert

The cheese used as a layer is also used to make pancakes. Pieces of various soft fruits. And this is truly a great dessert. And here you can find an option for replacing mascarpone in cream. Sour cream or curd cheese mix with added cream is most suitable. By the way, pancakes can easily be turned into fruit rolls by cutting them into pieces characteristic of their traditional counterpart.

Have you baked tea buns for a long time? Products made from airy puff pastry are especially good. Our exotic friend also fits them as a cream inside. The original may be too expensive. Therefore, when choosing what to replace mascarpone with, you can choose a more inexpensive alternative from creamy curd cheeses. And add sugar or honey to taste.

Gourmets love to treat themselves light dessert mascarpone with fruit. It could be cherry or pear wine sauce or berry juice or syrup. Or just fruit slices. Visually reminiscent of ice cream. You won't go wrong when deciding what to replace mascarpone cheese in this dessert if you turn to curd mass with the addition of cream.

Risotto

There are many recipes for dishes where the “Italian” appears in the main or minor roles. The famous risotto will be much tastier and higher in calories if you add mascarpone cheese at the final stage of cooking. What can I replace it with so as not to spoil the whole dish? Considering that mascarpone plays the role of additional impregnation, a cream cheese mixture with the addition of butter is best.

The proposed analogues of the Italian favorite are varied. There are also more complex ones, for example, using ricotta cheese. Appears in the ingredients egg yolk, sugar, cream or milk. And you can’t get by with just one blender.

It is necessary to bring the yolk and milk mixed together to a boil, hold on low heat for several minutes, and then cool. And only then add whipped cream and ricotta cheese.

Today, many have embarked on the difficult path of struggling with excess body weight. Therefore, mascarpone, despite all its obvious advantages, is not recommended for those on diets, since it has very high calorie content. People suffering from kidney and stomach diseases are also not advised to indulge in cheese. Those who have problems with blood pressure and cholesterol can also be considered at risk.

But this does not mean that everything is hopeless. What can you replace mascarpone cheese with? Follow the main rules. The analogue should be light in fat. That is, choose light, low-calorie ingredients for the recipe, be it cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream.

Conclusion

All proposed options are, if not one hundred percent, then close to this indicator, substitutes for mascarpone. But if there are no prohibitions and there is an opportunity to try the original, do not deprive yourself of this opportunity. This “Italian” is worth it! We hope that you have chosen what can replace mascarpone in your dish.

What unites such famous, but completely symbolizing different countries, desserts like American cheesecakecheese treat") and the representative of sultry Italy - tiramisu (“lift me up”)?

Incredible taste - you say? And you will, of course, be right, both treats, prepared according to classical canons, will certainly leave an indelible impression on the taster.

But there is one more point that connects them - this is mascarpone cheese, one of the main ingredients, thanks to which people all over the world adore both tiramisu and cheesecakes.

It is possible that someone does not know, or has not thought about what the product is, with beautiful name"mascarpone". This is cheese. Italian. Creamy. Pasty. Very tasty. And dear...

For most modern ordinary people, the last characteristic in the description is enough to never be interested in or remember what mascarpone is, because it’s unlikely to be possible to buy it anyway.

In addition to the exorbitant prices for such a delicacy, there is another reason why many housewives are looking for a worthy alternative to it - it is rare.

Mascarpone is not mayonnaise; you can’t always find it even in a good supermarket. But what to do if you really want tiramisu, but don’t have macarpone?

The same as always: use resourcefulness and ingenuity, as well as “help from the audience” - sources where there is information on how to replace expensive mascarpone so that the intended dish turns out the way it should be in the original.

Real mascarpone is made from high-fat buffalo or cow's milk cream..

They are subject to special processing, and no starter is used at all, due to which the product has a completely non-cheesy texture and a much more delicate taste.

The mass turns out more like air light oil which is ideal for cooking delicious desserts and snacks. But today is not about mascarpone itself, but about how to do without it.

A worthy replacement for mascarpone

If the reason for looking for a replacement for mascarpone is not its price, but its absence on store shelves, then try ricotta. This is also Italian soft cheese, in consistency and taste very similar to the hero of our article.

Ricotta is made, however, not from cream, but from whey, and it can be different tastes, therefore, given the variety of types of ricotta, you need to know which one is more suitable for which dish.

For desserts, buy sweetish ones; smoked and salty varieties will replace mascarpone in appetizers.

Philadelphia cheese can also be a good alternative.- American analogue of mascarpone. It is prepared from the cream of cow's milk and the milk itself. It is used for cheesecakes and, sometimes, for tiramisu.

However, both ricotta and Philadelphia are not cheap pleasures, but most readers are interested in a budget option famous mascarpone.

There are several proven cooking recipes for them. homemade cheese mascarpone, which will taste almost indistinguishable from the original.

Homemade Mascarpone Cheese Recipes

1.Recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya: milk cream, fat content not less than 33% - 1 part and unsweetened for children curd cheeses(without glazing) – 2.5 parts. Mix everything well and beat.

2. Recipe from the chef of one of the restaurants.

Cheese like this will suit the recipe for preparing any desserts: 3 tablespoons of sour cream 25% fat, a package of inexpensive but good creamy cheese, 2 tablespoons of cream 33% fat. Mix everything well and beat.

From the products: only fresh lemon juice - 2 tablespoons, and fat, at least 33%, cream.

Bring the cream to a boil over moderate heat, be sure to stir so as not to burn on the sides and bottom of the pan, otherwise the final product will have an unpleasant aftertaste.

Remove the hot cream from the heat and immediately pour in the fresh lemon juice; the cream should quickly curdle.

Let them stand for 30-40 minutes, and then separate the liquid: take a colander, cover it with 5-6 layers of gauze or thick cloth, pour the curdled cream into it and put it in the refrigerator.

The serum should drain overnight, leaving about 350 grams in the rag. true mascarpone.

The fattier the cream, the greater the mass part finished product. You can simply spread this cheese on bread in the morning, and there’s no shame in adding it to tiramisu.

4. Ryazhenka recipe. Fatty fermented baked milk should be frozen, then divided into parts, placed in a colander lined with a cloth and left to slowly defrost.

During this time, the excess liquid will drain and a creamy mass will remain, similar in taste to mascarpone.

You can also experiment with cottage cheese. Beat it with cream, sour cream, flavor lemon juice, vanillin and others pleasant to the taste additives, the main thing is that there are no lumps, since the smooth texture is business card mascarpone.